“I would like to give a formal and sincere tribute to Terry Z (as he is most famously know) for all the contributions that he has made to our world of espresso coffee. Terry has been a long time creative energy in providing leadership, innovation, passion and invention. His company, Espresso Parts, has been a valuable source for exotic, custom espresso machine creations, spare parts, coffee expertise and an often driving force in supporting a myriad of coffee activities. I would be remiss without also acknowledging is dear partner and wife, Kelly. Together they created a special place and special family in Espresso Parts. On behalf of many of us in the industry, Thank You Terry and Kelly and a hearty Congratulations! I am proud to be counted among your many friends.” My best, Kent Bakke

Knowing one of the major goals in for the event is exposure for the barista to the best tools of the trade La Marzocco is a proud sponsor of all things education supplying a healthy dose of top notch equipment.

Setup began Saturday and picked up again early Sunday morning. Volunteers & SCAA staff are on hand to facilitate and actuate a total transformation.

Amazing detail is required to setup just under a dozen espresso machines, several water delivery systems, differing brew methods, small wares and several audio systems later camp is setup. At dawn’s early break barista’s arrive and the fellowship begins again.

In the Long House supporting the BGA Cafe’s the Manual Paddle Strada. For most it was the first time handling the barista driven design. Lots of deliciousness coming out of those groups!

Moving into the performance area of the Long House & Mesa Yurt, various stations were setup for break out sessions and BGA Certifications, Level 1 & Level 2. La Marzocco GB5 & Linea were on hand to aid barista’s in the end goal of grind it, dose it, tamp it….work it!

Cupping labs were supported by the Marco Eco Boiler known for its temperature priority delivery system.

Just a week before camp an email shows up introducing you to a group of people you may not know but will be paired up with at the event. During this feed, we conjured up a team theme, a team name and some team props. There were 12 teams total who would dine together and compete for the coveted win and an oversized trophy complete with bragging rights for one full year.

Team activities came in many forms. Tag team style relay races including bobbing for apples, eating a powder donut off a string, dizzying mind spins, hoola hoops and costumes combine with grabbing all the components for preparing a perfect brew.

The Coffee Version of the Price is Right and Jeopardy test your ability to price equipment and an end of the week total team effort of brewing espresso and creating a beautiful cappuccino with just around 12 different hands in the process…sound confusing, it is but you got to be there to appreciate it.

Each team also has the opportunity to serve their peers in a morning, afternoon and evening bar shift. Secret shopped for quality and overall service, these teams are scored points based on these services eventually creating an overall Best in Show result. Between team competitions and the bar service there is no shortage of coffee shenanigans to participate in.

Barista Guild of America offers it’s standardizing language and Level 1 Certification. The curriculum defines the language a specialty barista should understand. Curriculum is specific and focused towards empowering strong definition of what we do and why we do it. Moving into a secondary round of classes, Level 2 courses and certification/tests which define the barista’s “can do” abilities as a leader and all around expertise in preparation and service.

Attendees are driven to learn and grow in an environment that oozes coffee details, conversations, curriculum, tests and retests. Customer service, brew classes, cupping/sensory courses and the opportunity to get your paws on some of the most desirable equipment in the industry!

Barista Guild of America Coffee Crawlin Crew: Jason & April Dominy (Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters), Sarah Dooley (La Marzocco) and the men who organized the extravaganza Mr. Noah Namowicz & Joe Morrocco (Cafe Imports). We set out to visit as many shops as we could, but don’t worry we’re totally coming back and we want to visit so many more of you! Send us an email as we plan our future caffeignation: sarah [at] lamarzoccousa [dot] com.

Hopping off the jet and into the waiting car of Tonx (Tonx Coffee). Tony sweeps a few of us off to what he labels his favorite brunch spot in LA, AXE (ah-shay). (Very important to support sanity when tasting coffee). Shortly after our departure Noah & Joe of Cafe Imports land, grab a souped up rental mini-van and head toward the first coffee meetup, Intelligentsia Venice. Here we were also met by John & Andrea Stoval, (Coffee Tools Application).

Typical to Intelligentsia Coffee, Venice a line of out the door, a smiling barista to greet and host you to your coffee bar where excellent beverages are crafted and served. Coffee faces…everywhere, driving short and not so short conversations. A few check-ins and the coffee crawl destinations are finalized.

Collectively off to Paper or Plastik. Additionally adding the super friendly Todd Goldsworthy & adorable son Levi to the caravan. Yummy coffee and a dark rimmed women with warm motherly charm introduces herself as the owner Anya Michelson. She politely took our plates, asked about the service and would later share the extended floor plan addition of a dance studio, at which point there was twinkling pride in her eyes.

There was also a visionaries tour of the future by Mr. Phillips. We tromped around the freshly dug drainage lines and stood on literal earth for the future roaster/cafe. Outside, film crews drive by and street posts indicate there will be filming proving we are clearly in LA…Hollywood signage looming in the hills and in our thoughts.

Back into cars we race through streets, framed in palm trees and yet another slow drive past camera’s filming the caravan of tricked out low riders…ending up at Proof Bakery & Cognescenti Coffee Bar.

Here we sample the Tonx Coffee Costa Rican offering as espresso. They were kind enough to stay open for also showcasing amazing baked items and a ridiculous chocolate truffle. Other options for coffee; Four Barrell, Heart, Coava , & Ecco. (A little Pacific Northwest in the mix).

At this point hydration and food is the next necessary need for proper brain function, continued communication with humanity and balance. Walking distance from dinner and our last stop of the day, Intelligentsia Silverlake.

A stunning space with yup you guessed it, predictably delicious coffee and more coffee folk to chat with.

The sun is setting and the caravan parts from it’s tour guide, heading toward the 101. Next destination, Santa Barbara’s El Capitan Resort for the 2nd Annual Camp Pull A Shot!

To those of US who love chocolate and want to dabble in the language with some of our countries upcoming chocolatiers, this is the weekend to do so! Seriously, the second year of this event promises to inform your palate and your mind with a star studded series of celebrity chocolatiers & chefs.

To kick off the festivities, the La Marzocco Brew Lab is hosting a Thursday evening pairing of sipping chocolates and coffee. The sipping chocolate will be prepared by local chocolatier Janet Eicher, Chocolat Vitale. Co-mingling with chocolate and the guests, coffee will be paired nicely by Velton Ross, Velton\’s Coffee Roasting Company.

Minded with mastery and no stranger to events Troy, of Cosmic Cup Coffee and Gerra, of New Harvest Coffee can add another successful gathering to their list of accomplishments.

Barista folk from all over the world gathered at a specialized 2 1/2 day event titled MANE.

According to attendees, speakers and a brief, lovely post from dear coffee i love you we’d like to offer a little recap.
With interviews from a short, but sweet DM twitter feed from an easy man to adore, Gwilym Davies and one of our very own attendee/instructor/all around cool guy, Scott Guglielmino.

Let’s start with the keynote speaker and 2009 World Barista Champion (apparently looking very good for his age according to the wikipedia definition, perhaps some shenanigans around his birth year). If you have met Gwilym you would agree he’s probably the most approachable person in the industry; kind, knowledgeable, and a professional learner. His keynote speech summed up felt a little something like this “we just don’t know much…and it’s time to drop the ego’s.” With an invitation like that you can imagine how the dynamic of a room can change opening up the lines of communication.
Scott G. (LM Solutions & specialized customer service tech.) came away with a similar feeling on the event. Scott spent his time doing what he does very well, explaining the intricate but very basic controls for finding great coffee; dose, grind, temperature. His message is the same whether he is here, abroad or at MANE, “…the correction extraction should also taste good.” (Thank you www.dearcoffeeiloveyou.com for that perfect quote). He is full of impactful one liners like that. Scott had another pretty inspiring moment that he put into these exact words,”The thirst for knowledge in the New England coffee community was refreshing.”

The event had great topics, full days of information sharing in an intimate layout which welcomed conversation and encouraged hands on learning.

Evenings were matched with a latte art competition, brew down event and what would be great fellowship leading into the wee hours of the morning.

Strada, lever machines and Marco boilers played supporting equipment roles in the production that attendees brag is the best coffee event to date!

Chris King, the renowned bike component fabricator, is also renowned for his passion for good coffee. Check out his super slick headset tampers and fresh roasted coffee. Here he talks about the cycling and coffee culture while sporting a GS/3.